RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF CHITOSAN BLENDS WITH POLY(ETHYLENE OXIDE) AND POLY(VINYL ALCOHOL) IN SOLUTION

The present work is concerned with experimental results on rheological characteristics of active chitosan salt blends with water solution of PEO and PVA. Flow measurements were carried out on solutions of pure polymers: chitosan (with deacetylation degree DD = 73.3% and M-w = 3.2 x 10(5)), PEO (M-w = 1 x 10(5)) and PVA (M-w low) of various concentr ations and their blends with various weight fractions of components. R heological parameters of rheological power law, such as n, A and E-a ( activation energy of viscous flow) with varying weight fraction of chi tosan in blend solutions are calculated and discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevi er Science B.V. All rights reserved.